A Child Of Two Worlds
by RosaS
Summary: Some people on the U.S.S Enterprise aren't all they appear to be, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. A Bones/OC fanfic. Please review!
1. Chapter 1

A Child of Two Worlds

Looking back, I should've known something as up. I was too damn proud to look further than what I just gleaned from the superficial.

She is beautiful. Without doubt, she is one of the most beautiful beings I have ever had the pleasure of meeting; inside and out, her 'flaws' were few – counted on one hand.

Dammit, I fell head over heels the first time I saw her when she was commissioned to be on the Enterprise. The first thing she did on the bridge was give a big beaming smile to the entire crew and greet them in their native languages. Her talents went far above just aesthetics. Qualified in a lot of things, but resident engineering genius, she mainly hung around with Scotty and made sure all of the wiring around the ship was in check.

The months that passed were some of the best I've had. I wasn't _as_ grumpy as before, and dammit, Jim had noticed. That man notices everything when it comes to women. We were checking out a planet for its suitability for a shore leave when he sidled up to me with that smug-ass grin of his.

"Sooooooo….Bones. Is it the dark hair and pale skin or the big ol' brown eyes that getcha?"

I shot him a look that I was sure he would recognise as 'Captain, aren't you due for another hypo around about now?' but he kept on at me.

"Maybe it's the British accent. I mean, she's pretty hot."

"Don't you dare, Jim."

"Dare what?" his eyes feigned innocence, but I knew better, and then he added, "And it's captain"

The smug smile returned to tell me he was teasing.

"Don't make her another one of your conquests, _Captain,"_

"Far as I know, she's single, _Bones_"

"And you aren't gonna be the one to change that,"

"I KNEW IT!" Jim practically squealed like a little school girl – smartass. He always knew how to get information outta me.

"Jim, _captain_, shut the fuck up" I could see a couple of Ensigns turning around to face them – nonchalantly, of course. Before I knew it, the blood was rushing up to my face – man I was embarrassed… but I'd rather go to hell than admit that to Jim.

"Warm, Doc?" he opened his mouth to continue, when Uhura (God bless her) interrupted.

"Uninhabited, Captain. Neither Spock or I can detect any dangerous readings. Just leafy green plant life," a smile lit up her face. She'd been wanting some time alone with the hobgoblin – which I'm sure was more 'fun' than it sounded.

When we beamed back the landing parties, she was standing in the transporter room. Her hair was tied up, but still caressed her shoulders and back.

"Deck 7 waiting to beam down, Captain – shouldn't be two ticks," she closed with a warm smile. I didn't look back at Jim. I wasn't going to let him ruin the few seconds I got before I was called to Sickbay to look after Robinson, after he electrocuted himself. AGAIN.

Reviews and Constructive Criticism welcomed. Much love x


	2. Chapter 2

A Child of Two Worlds

We started off meeting in the Rec room at breaks in our shifts. She sure likes an old band called the Beatles, and to be fair to her, some of their stuff was pretty good. I was never good at being charming – my heart would come up with something real good and then my brain'd be like: 'Hey, wait a minute, Len, let's fix that up for you…'

This is the only way I can explain telling her that I would like to see her 'blow' things. She'd told me that she'd seen a glass-blowing class back in England and fancied giving it a go someday. I died a little inside as the words came out.

The only person I properly told about my affection for her was Nyota – and not only did I have her swear an oath of secrecy to that boyfriend of hers, but also to keep it from Bernie herself. I owe her one.

The first sign I should've picked up on was when I went down to visit the Engineering deck to 'see how things were going'… well at least that's what I told Jim.

After scouting around for a little bit, I saw her beautiful form leaning on one of the control panels, her hands gripped around the main visual panel and her eyes focused on whatever it was showing her. It was then that I noticed her ears.

Across the middle of each ear there was what I can only describe as a small line – perhaps a scar - spanning from one side to the other – the type of scar that may have been left by a skin graft? I'd never noticed before: her hair always seemed to cover them nicely. They weren't ugly by any stretch of the imagination, just unusual. I walked up to her.

"How's it going?"

"Pretty good, thankyou. Core temperature normal, warp's working great and no major hiccoughs yet…" she flashed a smile at me.

"That's good," I looked at her for a while as she was deep in work, "Do you mind if I ask about your ears?"

"My ears?" she looked startled.

"I mean, I don't mean to be rude, but I think I can see what look like marks from skin grafts on them… it really doesn't matter to me, I just… Professional curiosity."

"I was born with malformed outer ears. My hearing is perfectly fine, it's just the outside form: the doctors corrected it for me…" it sounded rehearsed. I assumed she just got asked about them a lot.

"Oh, right, well. They did a lovely job," I smiled sheepishly. Man, I hoped I didn't just blow it.

Returning to sick bay, I just sighed as I looked as Ensign Chekov, who had slipped down an engineering shaft and caught his leg on one of the metal bars on the fall.

Thank God I have a strong stomach.

I got another clue the day I told her about my schedule for her physical. The start of something I never knew would happen.

She was sitting opposite Anna Benjamin, a Lieutenant in Weapon operations, when I came into the Rec Room.

"Hey, how're doing?" my southern twang becomes stronger around her for some reason I can't put my finger on.

"I'm good thankyou, and yourself?" she looked up at me. Tingles shot down my spine.

"'m good. Jus' doing the rounds. Your physical, next week Tuesday, that alright?"

"Oh, Bones, thanks for scheduling me in, but I don't need one, nothing wrong with me…"

"I'll be the judge of that," I smiled at her "I'll be as gentle as you like."

"No really, Bones, it's fine, I'm all good." She got up, gently raising herself from the chair to face me.

"You're like Jim, c'mon – you won't feel a thing – it's Starfleet Regulation,"

"Len, look, I'm being seen this Friday by a doctor on Rigel V."

"What?!" But I'm your doctor, I'm the CMO for this vessel" I couldn't help but feel disappointed. The woman I loved didn't trust my ability.

"No, no, no, please, Len, I have no doubt in my mind that you are the best doctor Starfleet has, but this doctor is a family one, known me from when I was little…"

"Best doctor in Starfleet, but not good enough for you…" I turned around and headed for the door.

"You don't understand…" were the last words I heard before I skulked back down to sickbay.


	3. Chapter 3

A Child of Two Worlds

I entered sickbay to a sight I thought I'd never see – Jim Kirk waiting in sickbay for me to give him his physical. Alright, he was all but being restrained by Spock, but Jim was still conscious, which meant that Spock didn't have to do his nerve pinch to get him down here, which was amazing. The Captain picked up on my mood as soon as I walked in.

"Hey Bones, what's up?"

"Shut it and open wide"

"Shut it and open wide, Captain,"

I glared at him and hypoed him. Maybe a little bit too vigorously, sticking it into his arm.

"Dammit Bones! Careful!"

No answer.

"What is up with you?" he leaned into me, away from the curtain where Spock was standing, making sure he didn't abscond.

"Did you know?"

"Know what?"

"You know what."

"Fuck me, Bones, stop speaking in riddles."

He didn't know.

"Lieutenant Donnelly going to Rigel V to see another doctor."

"What?"

"Dammit Jim, you must've authorised it!"

"I authorised her leave. Only 1 day. Thought it was very short, but believe it or not, Bones, it's not my job to question why she needed it. Thought it was visiting family or something."

"Am I not good enough?"

"Bones, man, you're the finest doctor in the fleet, I mean you can get me – James Tiberius Kirk – to stand still… for at least a little while. That's better than any doctor I know."

I wrote down Jim's reaction times and put them in his record. All good. For once. I rechecked them – Jim Kirk actually not diseased or having an allergic reaction to something harmless? Never thought I'd see the day.

"You're good to go…"

He lingered on the bed for a while before putting his hand on my shoulder and squeezing.

"I'm sure it's nothing personal, Bones. Just one of those things."

Says the man who can bed any woman he wants. God Dammit!


	4. Chapter 4

A Child of Two Worlds

The day she came back from Rigel V, I got sent a report from her 'doctor', confirming that everything was fine. I skimmed over it quickly and moved it to her file in the PADD. I didn't talk to her that day. Proud and stubborn as I am, but it killed me inside. The next day, I had to go down to see that she as alright. She was, thankfully.


	5. Chapter 5

A Child of Two Worlds

Red alarms, sirens everywhere. We were nearing New Vulcan, trying to make a delivery of supplies with the allied Vulcan ships to the small population on the planet's surface. A Vulcan ship had just been shot out of the sky with technology that could only belong to one race.

"Ze Klingon warbird, zir, she iz closing in…" Pavel swung around in his chair to face Jim, his forehead glistening with sweat.

"All decks to battle-stations, Mr Chekov; Mr Sulu, evasive manoeuvre number one," Jim's hands clung to his chair so that his knuckles were white.

"Dammit, Jim, he's taken another one out, we have to get these medical supplies down to the people," I tried to help Jim focus on the (now very pertinent) delivery, rather than trying to outsmart the Klingons.

"Yeah, I'll get right on that with all the spare men I have, Bones," Jim cut in, stressed, but only I could see it. Well, at the most, only Spock and I could sense it.

"Captain, it would be logical to focus on the supplies first, rather than military retaliation." Spock's ever calm demeanour was faultless.

"It would also be logical to eliminate the threat so more supplies will be left to send down, no?" Jim answered him, his tone clipped.

"Some supplies now is better than no supplies later, Jim."

"I must agree with Dr McCoy,"

"Well, that's a first," I turned to Spock, smirking at the Vulcan slightly.

Jim thought hard for a while. "We'll have to do two things at once."

"What? Jim, we don't have the manpower!"

"I must agree with…"

"Look, I am the Captain, I hate pulling rank, but there's a chance that the Klingons will blast us out of the sky while we're completing the delivery – and I for one am not letting the people aboard this ship die!"

We were all interrupted when the voice of Pavel Chekov resounded on the bridge.

"Zir, according to my calculations, zheir veapons are far superior to ours. Zhey vill blow us out of ze sky, Keptin…"

Silence echoed through the bridge.

Pavel continued, "Our shields cannot save us, Keptin. Our only hope iz if someone iz beamed over to disable zheir veapons…"

"I'll beam across."

Everyone's heads turned to the voice resonating from the turbolift at the entrance to the Bridge. Bernadette stood, confident, even with her petite stature, she still commanded the same respect as any of the senior members of the crew.

"Bernie, no, it's too dangerous…"

"It is the only logical alternative, captain. I have the technical know-how to disable their weapons in order to ensure you guys are safe to beam down to the planet." She remained in front of the door.

"You are not going. I haven't medically cleared you," I challenged her, protecting her.

"You have not, Dr McCoy, but I have been cleared by a certified Starfleet doctor, and according to the Prime Directive, this is sufficient for my participation in missions," she spoke completely out of her normal tone and character – opting for a more Spock like demeanour as she faced me.

"The Lieutenant is correct, Dr McCoy,"

"Shut it, you pointy eared hobgoblin!" I flared up at him – he was not sending the love of my life to her impending doom.

As soon as I said it, I regretted it, mumbling an apology. Bernie looked particularly hurt, given the fact that the insult was certainly not aimed at her.

"I will be in the transporter room. Scotty?"

Scotty looked up at Jim and grimly nodded his head before following Bernie into the turbolift and down to the transporter room.

The Bridge fell silent, before Jim finally decided to break it.

"After Bernie has beamed aboard their ship, I want you, Mr Spock to join me, Uhura and Nurse Chapel to the planet's surface to deliver the goods. McCoy, that leaves you in charge," he warned me with his stare, "I trust you."

I simply nodded, dumbly. I was still soaking up what had just been agreed.

A communication came up from Scotty; Bernie was on the enemy ship.

I held my breath. And kept holding.


	6. Chapter 6

A Child of Two Worlds

Jim, Nyota, Christine and Spock all solemnly walked to the medical storage unit to pick up the goods and then headed down to Scotty to be beamed down to the surface. I was told of their successful arrival from a young blonde ensign – obviously inexperienced in using the comm.

I had body plans and updates of all of the guys that were beamed off of the ship. Jim was running, heart rate up; Nyota too. Christine was slightly out of breath, and Spock – not so much as a slight increase in heart rate. Obviously he was accustomed to more rigorous bouts of exercise than running for his life trying to deliver much needed medical packages.

Bernie's heart rate was up slightly. I monitored her above all of the others.

She was keeping in constant contact… until…

"I appear to be in the Engineering deck of the ship now, Enterprise. Not a soul abo…" A crackle of electricity ended the transmission before her body plan soon flashed bright red.

"SHE'S BEEN HIT, SHE'S BEEN HIT" Sulu screamed to the bridge.

"Lost all communication, Captain," Robinson looked up from Uhura's post, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Can we get her aboard this ship, Scotty?" I tapped the button on the intercom on the chair.

"Len, their shields are up now, they've seen that we've been people down to the planet and onto their ship, they'll see it as an act of war. If Bernie doesn't disable those weapons, we're dead."

"We…She…The Ship…But Scotty, she's hit!" I couldn't believe what I was being told.

"The Klingons are approaching us, Sir," Sulu looked back at me.

"Evasive manoeuvre two, Mr Sulu."

"Yes, sir,"

"Robinson, get me Kirk,"

"Of course, sir"

"Chekov, all decks to battle-stations, phasers set at highest power, weapons decks fully manned."

"Da, sir,"

A familiar voice came on over the intercom. "Bones, this is Jim. Come in Bones."

"Jim!"

"We're dodging bullets down here, man! We've given the doctors the meds, but the Klingons have skirmish patrols of the area down here. Klingon warbirds… small but deadly."

The line was becoming crackily.

"Jim, she's been hit, they've got her,"

Bernie's body plan – more incomplete that any of the others, since she didn't have her medical aboard the ship – glowed red, but she was still hanging on to life.

Then suddenly.

"Sir! Captain! We're being hailed…"

"Enterprise out, Jim."

"Put the ship on visual, Robinson,"

"Yes, sir"

Bernadette's face was a pale beacon of hope as the visual aid appeared on the screen for the whole bridge to see.

"Bernie!" I jumped from the chair.

"Len, I've managed to disable some of the weapons, but I need to disable them from the engineering panels in the bridge to disable all military capabilities on the ship…"

"You're on the Bridge?!"

"I managed to lock them out using a computer program for the doors. It won't last forever, but it should keep them occupied for a while…"

Suddenly the door to the Klingon Bridge exploded. Her screams entered the air. The visual died. Then the sirens started. Her body plan indicated that she had been shot through the chest cavity – undoubtedly through the heart. I sat stunned. With her heart having been taken out by a phaser, it felt as though someone had ripped out half of my heart and soul to leave a gaping hole in my side.

"Kirk to Enterprise. Beam us up, Enterprise."

It took me a second to reply.

"This is McCoy. You are being locked onto. Prepare to be beamed up." I flicked the button off and dropped out of the chair, dragging myself up to the turbolift, before turning back and ordering Sulu to open fire on the Klingon ship.

The four from the surface rain onto the Bridge to the news. Uhura burst out in tears, whilst the others stood in silence.

"Continue to open fire on the Klingons, sir?" Sulu looked up at Jim, who simply nodded and took his place back in the chair.

A long two minutes passed as their ship got closer to ours.

"Zir, zheir shields, zhey are down…" Chekov turned to Jim, slightly disbelieving what his panel had told him.

"Zir, zheir veapons, zhey are now also down, Keptin…" he soon followed.

My eyes dilated. She couldn't have. It was impossible. A visual communication was sent to us from the Klingon vessel, now falling fast into the New Vulcan atmosphere.

"Bernie!" I sprang out of my seat once again to get closer to the screen.

Her face was bruised, her hair dishevelled and her shirt drenched in blood. But the blood. The blood wasn't red. It was green. As she turned her head in the visual, the folds I thought were skin grafts had gone – must've fallen off in the conflict to reveal the delicate and deliberate points at the tips of her ears.

"You're… You're Vulcan?"

"I am a Human-Vulcan hybrid, brought up on Earth. Brought up to express emotion. Brought up to be human…" she stated simply.

"The reason you didn't want me to do your physical…"

"I didn't want you to see me as just another green-blooded, pointy-eared hobgoblin…"

"I would never have seen you like that.." tears were welling up in my eyes.

"I love you, Len." Her big brown eyes glistened as the transmission became more and more crackily.

"I love you, Bernie,"

"The ship is falling fast, I don't think I can get a lock on her, Captain," Scotty's distressed voice came over the intercom.

Chekov sprung to life as we realised it was our only hope. Running to the transporter room in silence, before rushing through the doors and frantically trying to lock onto her position, we communicated only through grunts and curses.

"Ah, Ah! I zhink I've got her, doctor!" Chekov turned to me, animated.

"Bring her up, bring her up!" I encouraged him.

"Pav, Len, their ship is really falling now, burning up…" Jim chipped in over the comm.

"And….. zhere!" he signalled for me to energise the pad – I didn't need to be told twice!

We stood staring at the pad as it struggled to beam her fast moving body up and then, she appeared. Bruised and battered, but alive and standing on the pad, dazed.

"I thought I'd lost you!" I ran towards her, taking her into my arms, tightly wrapping them around her as she propped herself up on my frame, weak.

"Didn't think I'd go that easily, surely?" her eyes glistened as she looked up at me.

Dammit – I knew I didn't want to come that close to losing her ever again.

Ever.


End file.
